Capo Berlusconi
From Mr Ronald Harrison Sir: Count Capponi (Letters, 8 February) typifies the reaction of so many Italians when confronted with home truths — they prefer not to believe them and certainly not to see them spelled out. But, as all Italians are aware, Berlusconi has made full use of his propaganda machine, which controls 90 per cent of Italian television, in addition to news magazines and newspapers, to blast the anti-Mafia and anti-corruption judges with the sort of slanderous rhetoric used by Count Capponi. He has also changed the law to extricate himself from several of the corruption charges, by decriminalising fraud and reducing the time limit within which trials and their appeals procedure must be concluded.
It says much about the majority of Ital ians. including Count Capponi, that they chose to elect a criminally challenged godfather as their Prime Minister. A 'whiff of freedom', perhaps, to operate outside the law? According to the Italian Ministry of Finance, tax evasion now totals a record 100 billion euros.
Ronald Harrison
Formerly HM Consul-General at Naples, London SW7
Previous page
